Degrassi Recap: 'Unbelievable Parts 1 + 2'

Degrassians, thank you for joining us last night for a truly heart-wrenching and pivotal episode. There is much to discuss and reflect upon, and we're here to break it down with you. As always, if you haven't seen "Unbelievable" Parts 1 & 2, watch the hour-long episode right here before reading our recap.

The episode began with Zoe waking up in Miles' pool house the morning after his outrageous party, with little recollection of what happened. When Miles' little sister Frankie woke her up, she showed her a series of compromising photos that ended up online. Although Zoe seemed confident that the photos were only a blip on the radar (nothing that couldn't be erased by a stellar performance at the Degrassi Sing Off), this was only the beginning.

As the photos began to spread around the school, Becky pitched a story to Degrassi TV about the dangers of underage drinking. At first, she was determined to prove herself a serious journalist by getting to the bottom of what really happened at Miles' party. But when an anonymous person using the pseudonym "The Watcher" posted a video of Zoe, drunk on the floor in nothing but her bikini, Becky realized that there was more to the story. In the video, it appeared that two boys tried to jokingly harass Zoe as she lay near-unconscious. Becky realized that the real message here wasn't just about holding teens accountable for their actions under the influence. It was about how no one, under any circumstances, should be taken advantage of.

Becky, Drew and Imogen sifted through the photo evidence from the party, and were determined to figure out who took the video. They couldn't seem to get a lead on anybody until The Watcher posted another anonymous video containing security camera footage of Miles and Winston carrying Zoe into the pool house. Now, it appeared that the two boys were lead suspects.

Later on, at the Degrassi Sing Off, Zoe, Frankie and Keisha took the stage. In the middle of their performance, however, Zoe started having flashbacks to the party and became distraught by the fear of what may or may not have happened to her in the pool house. She quickly ran off stage and went to the doctor to get some answers. There, she learned that she was sexually assaulted.

Becky noticed as Zoe became increasingly tormented by the incident, and she realized that she couldn't keep the story to herself any longer. Becky informed Principal Simpson of her suspicions about Miles and Winston, and he immediately decided to involve the police. When the police questioned the boys, however, Winston was able to pull up a time code in the security footage to prove that it wasn't them in the assault video. So, if it wasn't Miles and Chuey, who was it?

Eventually, Grace came forward as The Watcher and told Becky, Imogen, and Drew that she wanted to help them figure out who was in the video. They determined that Becky's brother Luke and his friend (who, incidentally, was the same guy that tried to put his hands on Maya in 'Barely Breathing') were involved. And even though Becky didn't want to believe that her brother could be capable of such a disgusting act, she found the assault video on his phone. Luke Baker was Zoe's attacker. And Becky was dazed and devastated.

Zoe meanwhile learned that the pep rally for the basketball team was cancelled because of the accusations. Zoe didn't make the claims (she had, in fact, kept pretty quiet about the whole thing), but angry students started spreading nasty rumors that Zoe wasn't actually assaulted. They said that she willingly had sex with the two boys in the video, regretted it, and then decided to tell the police that she was violated. It's important to understand that Zoe was not only being ostracized by her peers for the events that took place, but they were now falsely accusing her of making the whole thing up. And despite her reputation for getting entangled in controversy, Zoe was the victim here. The victim who was being portrayed as the villain.

After it came to light that Luke was in the video, he approached Zoe to ask her to drop the accusations and "just forget everything." He even dared to suggest that no one would believe her side of the story anyway: "I'm a good Christian guy, I'm a hockey star," he said. But right before the basketball game, Zoe saw Luke carelessly flirting in the background, she charged toward him. She mustered enough infuriated strength to announce in front of everyone that he was other person in the video. He sexually assaulted her. And before he could try to defend himself, Becky jumped in and confirmed that her brother was indeed guilty. As swift as a coursing river, he was carried away by police.

The next day, Zoe walked in to school as Miles, Maya, Tristan, Drew, and Dallas waited for her. They promised to have her back and to be there for her as she began her recovery process. But before taking Miles' hand, Zoe turned around and saw Becky. She walked over to her and thanked her for coming forward, for speaking up against her own brother. And even though Becky said it wouldn't be easy, she knew she had to do what was right. In that moment, we felt our hearts swell to burst.

Zoe's story in this episode sheds light on the complicated issue of sexual assault. It can happen to all kinds of people, and all-too often blame is assigned to the victim. Situations like these aren't easy to talk about, but if you or someone you know have been affected by sexual assault, there are resources available and it is never too late to get help. Tell someone you trust. You don't have to deal with this alone. Call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE or go to www.rainn.org.